Numerous parts are assembled in pairs by means of a groove inside one of the parts serving to guide movement of the parts relative to each other, or serving to define the position of the parts relative to each other, or serving to lock one part inside the other.
Common examples of pairs of parts including one part with an inside groove for assembly with another part are connectors for interconnecting wires or optical fibers. A first connector part is inserted into a second connector part at a determined position relative thereto by axial translation and rotation as guided by an inside groove on the second part. Since such a groove is generally helical in shape, it is conventional to make the groove using a conventional tapping tool. However, such a groove can only follow a continuous path of constant slope running from one of the end faces of the part in which it is made. In other words, such a groove must open out outside the part in which it is made and it cannot change its slope; in particular it cannot be terminated by a non-sloping portion or by a portion of reversed slope, which would be convenient for locking some two-part assemblies together.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,540,699 describes a device for making inside grooves and comprising a two-part elongate body having an interior hollow receiving a succession of intermeshing gearwheels one after the other; the body is provided over its entire length with fixing means for holding the two parts together.
The main aim of the invention is to provide a device of small body size and suitable for making any desired inside groove in small parts such as electric connectors, one of the ends of said grooves optionally opening out from the part, or else the grooves are blind at both ends, and the slope of said grooves may be constant, or variable, or nil, or reversed over portions of their length.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a device suitable for moving along a milling axis so as to readily adjust the depth of the grooves to be made.